The present invention relates to a process for fastening of a rigid, shape-stable stop arrangement to a line, especially for closing off or anchoring a rigid, shape-stable clip having associated swivel and snell, rotatably mounted about the line.
The present invention is consequently directed more particularly to a process for fastening said stop arrangement, which is included in line fishing equipment which forms the connection between the line and associated fishing hooks each fastened to the line via its respective swivel and intermediate snells which are fastened to the fishing hook.
In addition the invention relates to a line having snell connected thereto, where the snell is connected via a swivel with a clip, which cooperates with a rigid, shape-stable stop arrangement which is secured to the line.
Hitherto there have been proposed a series of different stop arrangements and different ways of fastening such stop arrangements to a line and different ways for connecting the stop arrangement to associated clips and different ways of fastening such connecting arrangements at specific positions on the line.
In GB 2 074 027 two opposite stop arrangements are proposed which are fastened individually to the line and where the swivel itself is fastened rotatably mounted directly on the line, without intermediate clips.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,302 there is pivotally mounted on the line between two opposite stop arrangements a spherical connecting arrangement having an annular groove for receiving an attachment noose which is arranged at the end of the snell.
In FR 2 629 984 a stop arrangement is fastened on the line in the form of a first stop member having a U-shaped cross-section for installing the line sideways in the stop arrangement and a second insert member which is adapted to be snapped into engagement with the first stop member for locking the stop arrangement to the line in an immovable manner. A clip is adapted to be received pivotally mounted in an annular groove on the periphery of the stop arrangement, a clip being snapped in place an the stop arrangement in an annular locking engagement.
In GB 2 035 021 a stop arrangement is shown of split ring form which receives pivotally mounted in an annular peripheral groove a connecting arrangement in the form of a split sleeve and an equivalent split fastening portion projecting laterally outwards for the fastening means of the snell.
In the known constructions various types of stop devices are employed. According to a first example two clamp members of plastic are employed, which are squeezed into a snap engagement with each other from each side of the line. According to a second embodiment the stop devices are cast in place on the line. By the use according to a third embodiment of corded material a portion of the stop device is thrust inwardly into the cross-section of the line or a connecting means is fastened through the stop device and inwardly into the line.
In WO-A-92/01372 two opposite stop means are proposed which are fastened individually to the line and where a clip or split ring means is fastened rotatably mounted directly on the line between said stop means. Each stop means is illustrated in the shape of a clip, the opposite ends of which each is provided with an inwardly extending, inturned end portion to be inserted in the line. The clip is being clamped into ring-shape simultaneously as the end portions are penetrating into the line or into the strands of the line. Said penetration may damage the line or the strands of the line and/or may cause a restricted fastening of the stop means to the line.
In all the known solutions the forces which can be transferred from the stop device to the line without the line being destroyed or without the stop device being destroyed are thus limited.
With the present invention, the aim first and foremost is a solution where the stop device or stop devices can be fastened in a stable and reliable manner, without damaging the line, and with the possibility of transferring relatively large forces between the stop device and the line brought about by tension in a snell via a swivel and an associated clip.
The afore-mentioned object is achieved according to the invention by a process of the kind indicated by way of introduction, which is characterised in that the rigid, shape-stable stop arrangement is made of corded material in shape of a deformed closed ring, is mechanically secured to the line by said deformation, and that a clip is anchored directly on and rotatably mounted directly on the stop arrangement or is rotatably mounted about the line and is closed off in an intermediate space between two stop arrangements.
By means of suitable tools, the stop arrangement or the stop arrangements can be secured in a rapid and effective and at the same time reliable and gentle manner on the line, in readiness for the transfer of partly large forces in the longitudinal direction of the line to the stop arrangement or the stop arrangements.
In known constructions there is used for example a clip which is closed off between two separate stop arrangements or which is pivotally mounted with bearing portions which are arranged on each side of a common, intermediate clip or a clip which is closed off externally on the stop arrangement.
The process according to the invention can be used for fastening stop arrangements for all the three such modes of fastening mentioned.
In NO 170 663 a stop arrangement is employed in the form of a metal ring having a spherical outer surface. It is not stated concretely with which fastening means the stop arrangement is fastened to the line. Furthermore there is employed a clip in the form of a claw-shaped body, which has an equivalent spherical inner surface, in order to be able to permit rotatable mounting of a clip on the metal ring with the spherical surface. The claw-shaped body has an inherent elasticity, so that it can be snapped into engagement with the stop arrangement. This solution has the weakness that as a result of the snapping action, based on the inherent elasticity of a clip, it is not sufficiently stable as to shape and therefore is not adapted to transfer significant forces between clip and stop arrangement. The solution will therefore be unsuitable for line fishing at large ocean depths. In addition relatively sharp end edges of a clip can be freely pivoted inwardly into the line and damage this.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,989 a stop arrangement is shown in the form of a knot made by means of the line itself and where a disc for the fastening of snells is pivotally mounted directly on the knot on the line. The line illustrated is not designed for use for commercial line fishing, but on the other hand is designed for a line for use in angling.
With the present invention the aim as a further aspect is to produce a simpler connecting arrangement which provides a better, that is to say stronger and thereby more reliable fastening for the snell on the line and which provides a simpler and more robust connection between stop arrangement and clip.
The process according to the invention is in this connection characterised in that a clip, which initially is approximately C-shaped or U-shaped, is mechanically fastened in place on the stop arrangement in a surrounding, rotatably mounted engagement with the latter, by deformation of a clip to an approximately or substantially annular contour.
The line according to the invention is characterised in that the rigid, shape-stable clip on deforming the material of the clip is mechanically secured directly on the stop arrangement in a rotatable engagement with the latter, a clip covering parts of the line and the intermediate stop arrangement, while a clip projects with its end edges a distance axially outside the stop arrangement and surrounds parts of the line at a certain radial distance form the latter, and the stop arrangement is received in a middle, internal guide groove, which is defined an axial distance within end edges of a clip, so that the stop arrangement and the middle guide groove jointly guide a clip pivotally mounted relative to the stop arrangement.
According to the invention there is achieved a surprisingly simple and effective solution with favourable effects, particularly with respect to strength in order to take up particularly large weight and tension loadings. The solution also provides the basis for remaining favourable use characteristics, such as ready pivotal mounting and ready control in different directions relative to the line, together with the possibility of preventing wear of the line during use.
With a simple and compact annular stop arrangement, which has a minimal dimension in the longitudinal direction of the line, one can according to the invention anchor a clip on the stop arrangement in an effective manner with the possibility of a large transfer of force between clip and stop arrangement and further directly to the line, while the stop arrangement can transfer loading forces in an effective manner in arbitrary directions from a clip to the line via a guide groove of the clip and the stop arrangement centrally arranged in the latter. According to the invention a clip can also be produced with an especially simple, robust design by way of simple means.
In addition, it is easier to achieve an effective control by employing a sole, simple stop arrangement and opposite end stops internally in a clip, than by employing a clip which is controlled between two end stops in a sleeve-shaped stop arrangement of known construction. But the stop arrangement can with advantage also find application as end stops on each side of a separate rotatably mounted clip.
The guide groove can be milled out or hollowed out in another way in the material of the clip on the inner side of the clip with an equivalently reduced wall thickness at the guide groove. This can be appropriate in lines which are exposed to limited tension forces.
In lines which are exposed to strong tension forces however it is preferred that the guide groove is pressed out of the clip material without substantially reducing the wall thickness of a clip, but with a form which provides extra support and reinforcement of the annular shape of a clip.
It is preferred that the stop arrangement has a substantially rectangular cross-section. There can hereby be ensured an effective engagement between line and stop arrangement and in addition great inherent rigidity can be achieved in the stop arrangement.
In this connection, the connecting arrangement is characterised in that the stop arrangement is formed with two or more depressions on the outer periphery of the ring shape and equivalently with two or more projections on the inner periphery of the ring shape and with substantially circular arcuate portions between the depressions on the outer periphery of the ring shape, the projections forming anchoring means of the stop arrangement on the line, while the substantially circular arcuate, outer portions constitute a substantial proportion of the radially outermost peripheral portion of the ring shape for controlling a clip on the stop arrangement.
By employing initially an annular stop arrangement, the stop arrangement can first be easily threaded into place on the line and by deforming the stop arrangement the latter can be effectively fastened in place at the intended location on the line. Finally, by deforming of a clip the latter can be clamped in place in an easy and accurate manner in a rotary engagement with the stop arrangement, controlled via the internal guide groove.